Friday, April 06, 2007

Health Update On Steve Dyar And Kevin Moore

These are two very dear men in my life: Steve Dyar and Kevin Moore

This blog is as much about my life as it is about the low-carb lifestyle. I've never even tried to keep these two things separate because Jimmy Moore the normal guy is the exact same person as Jimmy Moore the man who lost almost 200 pounds on the Atkins diet. Anyone who tries to compartmentalize each aspect of their lives into different little boxes can never be completely themselves and I don't try to live my life that way. What you see is what you get, warts and all!

Because I write about my life within the context of the discussion of health, diet, and livin' la vida low-carb, there are some rather personal stories of real people who I have shared with you. I have asked you to pray for people who are going through intense and seemingly hopeless health complications and often I receive e-mails from readers wanting to hear an update on those dear loved ones in my life.

Do you remember when I told you about Steve Dyar just a few months ago? He's the former music minister at my church who listened to the call of God to go into full-time vocal ministry traveling the country with his beautiful and talented wife Susan a couple of years back.

Then in December 2006, Steve got just about the worst news anybody could ever hear in their life--CANCER! It was esophageal cancer and the doctors said they didn't have much hope for him beating it. But this mighty man of faith is putting his hope and trust in the Lord Almighty not just to help him through this calamity that has hit him, but to completely heal his body of the cancer that seeks to devour him.

The strength of this incredible man is such an inspiration to me and you can follow his journey through the chemotherapy treatments and the victories and trials along the way at his CaringBridge web site. Please sign his guestbook and let him know you are thinking and praying for him to truly overcome and rise victorious over this.

Last Sunday night a real miracle happened when this man who used to have such a booming voice before the cancer set in made a surprise appearance in our church choir's Easter musical by SINGING a powerful song called "You Were There." Our choir director and all of us in the choir had prayed he would feel well enough to do that song with us since the lyrics embody Steve's testimony.

Here are the lyrics to that incredible song:

Weary from the trials that it seemed I faced alone.Wondering why God left me here to struggle on my own.I thought of all the verses and the Scriptures I had read.How He promised to be with me,How He never would forsake me.So with all the faith within me, I cried out to God and said,"You were there for Moses; you were there for Joseph;you were there for David when he didn't have a prayer.You were there for Stephen so I believe in time I'll seeThat through it all, you were there for me."

Seeing this big man who has lost a considerable amount of weight (the hard way!) gracefully walking up on that stage, sharing briefly about what he has been going through since being diagnosed with cancer with a weakened speaking voice, and then singing this song custom-made just for him conjured up so much emotion that those of us in the choir almost couldn't sing our background parts on the song. But we made it through the tears to stand behind this very brave and couragous man.

Oh my gosh, hearing Steve's soaring baritone voice croon this anointed song about finding supernatural strength in the midst of a very bleak circumstance was enough to make Christians and non-Christians alike shout for joy at what God can and is continuing to do in this man's life.

In fact, after our first service at 4:00pm, a mom brought her daughter up to the front to speak with the pastor to let him know that Steve's song ministered to them since the little girl was recently diagnosed with a juvenile form of cancer a couple of weeks before. Now she KNOWS she can walk through this valley. To God be the glory!

Steve Dyar is by no means miraculously cured (YET!), but his unwavering belief that God can do it is an encouragment to all of us regardless of the situation we are going through. Continue to lift him up to the Great Physician because we are believing in a 100% healing of this man. It can happen and we'll rejoice in that miracle WHEN it comes.

The other dear man in my life going through tremendous odds in regards to his health is my brother Kevin Moore. You will recall I discussed in this blog post about how he has been through a series of heart attacks in 1999 and now weighs in at over 600 pounds! That's NOT a mistake--he really is THAT big.

His doctors aren't holding out much hope for Kevin because his morbid obesity is complicating and accelerating the rate that his body is shutting down. His life has been quite a whirlwind ride and he doesn't seem to care about getting his weight under control to save his health and quite possibly his life. You don't know how much that hurts me to see him going through all of this. It breaks my heart!

Kevin is my only brother and all of this just hits too close to home for me. That's why I was so glad to be able to see him at Christmas 2006, perhaps for the last time. I hope he sticks around until he's in his 40s, 50s, and beyond, but it doesn't look good.

As has been the case for the past several years since his early 30s when he suffered those nearly fatal heart attacks, Kevin has been in and out of the hospital with chest pains and other obesity-related issues with his heart. He's not even 40 years old yet (his 40th birthday is in August this year) and has had fluid build-up around the chest cavity drained more times than anybody else I've ever known in my life. His latest stint in the hospital was just a couple of weeks ago and now he's back home again living what passes for his life nowadays.

I love my brother and it hurts me to see him go through this preventable circumstance. What's done is done with his heart, but he could extend his life and improve the quality of the remaining days he has left if he would simply lose weight. He's seen my low-carb success and knows it can be done--he just has to want to do it. Up until this point, he hasn't.

Nothing I can do can make him do this. I just have to keep on loving him, encouraging him, and praying for him to do what's right for his health. Please remember Kevin and pray that he would FINALLY seek the truth and have the desire to save his life--before it's too late.

THANK YOU for all the wonderful e-mails of concern about both Steve and Kevin. These men are a big part of my life and I want God's will to be done in both of these situations regardless of what that may be. I firmly believe that God has the power to touch them physically and restore them to full health. Trusting Him to bring about His Will for them, I only ask that you join me in my prayers. God bless you and THANKS for your sincere and heartfelt interest.

5 Comments:

Your dear brother is the exact reason I try to get the "Big Three" killer trio on the table. #1 Sugar--#2 modern/hybrid carbohydrates--#3 caffeine. Please include all forms of these three killers. Many of us dieing addicted souls cannot just get off from just one or two of these addictions and make it work. We have to get off from all three of these addictions in order to restore our lives and live. We get no support. Nobody stands firm on all three of these. They will help us get off from two of these and feed us the third. A death sentence for us. Yet everybody says it isn't a death sentence that it is only the two that count. So we believe them and then die, they then bury us and grieve and move on. Still, not a living soul can hear me.

The life saving diet that is working for me is the Origional Atkins Induction Diet from about 1972. The only thing I do different is I use Wild Rice along with my meat and vegetables. I follow Dr Atkins first rule of "if you are hungry, eat" so I am never hungry. I call it my "all you can eat diet". That's right, eat all you want, as much as you want, and as often as you want, always, and lose hundreds of pounds and stay healthy and improve your entire life. Sound to good to be true, it isn't. It works like a charm. You are never hungry and a lot of the time you are comfortably stuffed. I buy Wild Rice in 50# and 80# and 100# bulk and cook two or three pounds at a time and then freeze it into large serving sizes and then add it to about everything I eat. I like to start the day with a pound or so of chuck steak or ground pork beautifully browned and cooked and then fry about six eggs in the grease, hog heaven. Then a few hours later I will oven bake about a pound and a half of chuck or pork or chicken and add about a half a head of cabbage or more and onion and garlic and a packet of my frozen wild rice and sometimes a pound of brussel sprouts or sometimes green beans or another vegetable. All this beautifully cooked and seasoned to perfection. I then go to hog heaven again and eat till I can't eat anymore. There is usually a quite a bit left over as this is about a five pound meal or more so I eat that a few hours later. Two big meals a day and sometimes three. I drink water only and keep a gallon by my side all the time, I drink it at room temperature. Sometimes it's cold and that's even better. I take no supplements or vitamins. Water, meat, vegetables, seasonings, eggs and sunshine and air. That's what goes into my body. Just like all the other species. I don't force water down me but I do drink about a gallon a day, sometimes three quarts for the full day, seldom more than a gallon unless I'm doing a lot. My water is with me everywhere I go. To this I am slowly adding exersize. The old guy from televison we talked about, I do it his way. Start by just moving your fingers and moving your arm and then making a fist. Then lift your leg a little. You are exersizing. Jack LaLanne, a really great interview if you read the Larry King interview word for word instead of skimming. It is loaded with gold nuggets. Best to you fat guys and gals. Atkins works. By the way. Skinny or thin people benifit just as equally as we fat people on this diet. It's perfect health. It's inate to our beings.